UnderstandingtheVulcanizingCycleasusedinSplicing

Thevulcanizationcycleforconveyorbeltsplicingfallsunderthreebase componentseachsupportingtheother. Ifanyofthethreeisoutofbalanceaperfectsplicecureisnotpossible. WhatisVulcanization? Vulcanizationisaprocesswhichtransformsthepredominantlythermoplasticuncuredsplicerubberinto anelasticrubberyorhardebonitelikestate.Thisprocess,whichinvolvestheassociationofmacro moleculesthroughtheirreactivesites,isalsocalledcrosslinkingorcuring. Besuretonote,itistheconversionofmoleculesintoanetworkbytheformationofcrosslinks.The numberofcrosslinksformeddependsontheamountofreactiontimeandtemperature.Onecallsitthe degreeofvulcanizationormorecommonlycrosslinkdensity. Thus,theterm"vulcanization"embracesnotonlythecrosslinkingorcuringreactionitself,butalsothe processwhichisusedtoachievethisgoal.Thisisthefirstpartiftheunderstandingneeded,insplicing weareusingthetermalittlemoreopenlythansayatireplantwhentheyusetheterm. Thefirstkeypartofthisunderstandingisinconveyorbeltsplicing,solvents,primersandcementsare used.Oftenthebeltitselfhasawaterinthefabricandthespliceisdoneisahumidenvironment (greaterthan75%).Thisisverycommoninminingapplicationswherethebeltinghasbeeninservicefor somemonths. Forexample,inatireplantthetiresarecuredunderagreatdealpressure(10,000lbs)athigherthan normaltemperature(350F),butonlystayinthemold(underpressure)forafewmins(1517mins). Thefinalpartofthecureisdonewhilethetireisinthecooldownroomafterbeingremovedfromthe mold. Inthetirebuildingprocessnosolvents,primersandcementsareusedandgreatcaristakentomake surethefabricandsteelcordsremaindry(planthumidityiscloselymonitored).Sincethereisnoliquids presenttocreateoffgassingitissafetoallowthetirestoreachtheirfinalstateofcureinthismanner. Page1of7

UnderstandingTime,

Thevulcanizationprocessoccursinthreetimestagesandeachstagecanaffectthenumberofcrosslinks andthusthespliceservicelife: (1)Flowtime,180230F(nocrosslinkingoccurs) (2)Beginningandbuildingofthecrosslinkingstage(rateofcure),230300F (3)Cure,reversionorovercurestage(stateofcure),300F+ (1) The flow time period represents the time during prevulcanization temperatures, during which no measurablecrosslinkinghasoccurred.Duringthatperiodtherubbercompoundflowsuninhibited.For example,asinSteelCordSplicingorFingerSplicing,itisnecessaryfortherubbercompoundtomaintain aprolongedflowtimeinordertofillallsplicecavityspacesandforallentrappedairtoescapethesplice completely.Thisisanimportantpointaswenotedearlier,vulcanizationisamolecularprocess.Thus thecrosslinkscannotformbetweenmoleculesthatarenotinclosecontactwitheachother. (2)Asthecompoundisheatedpasttheflowtimepoint,thepropertiesofthecompoundchangefroma softplastic(thinkofsomethingalongthelinesofpeanutbutter)toatoughelasticcompound.During thisstagethebuildingofcrosslinksareintroduced,whichconnectthelongpolymerchainsoftherubber molecule together. As more time occurs more crosslinks are introduced, the polymer chains become more firmly connected and the stiffness or modulus of the compound increases. The speed of this reactioncanbeaworry,toofastandnodeepcrosslinksareformed,onlynearsurfacemoleculesreact. (3)Atthecurestage,majortechnologicalpropertiesofthecompoundarenowforming,itisnecessary tocontrolthecuretimeoftherubbertoitsoptimumstateofcure(maximumstressvalue),butnotpast thatpoint.Forinstance,whenrubbercompoundsareproperlycrosslinkeditispossibletostretchten timesitsoriginallength,andafterremovingthetension,itwillreturntoitsoriginalshapeandlength (i.e.themoleculesarecoiledtogetherfromthecrosslinkingprocessandastheystretchtheyuncoil, thustheelasticeffectofrubber). Ifcontinuedheatingofthespliceoccurs,anovercuremayresultwhichcancausestiffening(marching modulus),orsoftening(reversion),ofthecompound.Theseresultswillbecompounddependent(i.e. SBR or NR). If these effects occur they will greatly reduce the physical properties of the rubber compound(adhesion,abrasion,etc). Thefollowingchartwillshowthetimerequiredtoheatlargecrosssectionsofrubber.Thusthetime delay that will occur from the center to the surface of the belt. Keep in mind in splicing we are concernedwiththeheathistorythecenterofthebelthasseen.Inthistesta1crosssectiontook25 minstocometocuretemperature(300F). Page2of7

Maeasured Temperature Profile, CR skim

180 160 140 Temperature, Celsius 120 100 80 60 40 20 Actual Top 0 0 5 10 15 Time, minutes 20 25 30 Actual Bottom Actual Centre

Thereareafewbasicformulastocalculatethecuretimeforbeltcrosssections,butIhavefound90%of thesplicersinfieldjustguessatwhattheythinkthecuretimeshouldbe.AcommontestIdoinsplice schoolsispassaroundasmallsectionofbeltingandaskeachtowritedownwhatthecuretimeshould beforit. Manylookaroundtheroomwithablankface.ThisisthereasonIhadthesesimpleslipongaugesmade forthetimecalculationofstandardgradebeltsplicescuredat300F(149C).Note:EPDMbeltscureat 320Fanddoublethetimescale.

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 UnderstandingTemperature, Asnotedinthebeforesection,sincethemoleculesarenottied(crosslinked)toeachotherbefore curing,theycanmovefreely,somethinglikewellusedbubblegum(youcanstretchtheuncuredrubber anditwillnotreturntoitsameshape).Thisisnotsowhentherubberisheldatelevatedtemperatures forameasuredtime.Itisatthiscurepointtherubbercompoundbecomesmoreplasticlikeandwill returntoitsshapeafterbeingstretched(crosslinkinghasoccurred).Itisimportanttounderstand rubbercompoundsexhibitathermodynamicirreversiblereactionastheymoveintothiscrosslinked state.Thekeywordhereisirreversiblereaction. ThefollowingRheometercurve(equipmentusedtomeasurethecurepropertiesofrubber)showsa compoundstartingoutatroomtemperature,say70Fandasthecompoundheatsupinthepressit startstoexpandandflow(180230F).Justafterthisflowpointthevulcanizationchemistryinthe uncuredrubberstartstohappen.Thisisthebuildingofthecrosslinksbetweenmolecules.

TheoptimumpointofvulcanizationisameasuredpointofTC90(i.e.90%oftheopenandreactive siteshavebeencrosslinked).Thiscanalsobecalledcrosslinkdensity. DwelltemperaturecangreatlyaffecthowquicklythisTC90willoccur.Asanexampleifwerunthe rheometerat350F,wemovethescaletotheleftanddecreasetheflowtimerangeandthesoaktime fortheheattofindthecenterofthebelt.Itwouldreducethecuretimecyclebutatacosttosplicelife. Soasanexampleifweruntherheometerat250F,wemovethescaletorightandgreatlyincrease (hoursnotmins)theamountofdwelltimeneededtofindthismeasuredpointofcrosslinkdensityof 90%.Oneupsideiswecanmoveheatintothecenterofthebeltinamorecontrolledmanner.Havea betterrubberflowandthusincreasethemoleculetomoleculecontact.

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 Ingeneraltermsthebestbalanceforfieldcuring(splicing)conveyorbeltinghasbeenfoundtobe290 310F(143154C).KeepinmindtheblendofPolyesterandNyloninthefabricanditsreactiontoheat historyisthereasontothisproventemperaturerange. Rememberitisallaboutcrosslinkdensityandthatcannothappenwithoutsolidcontact(pressure)ona molecularscale.Thishastohappeninacontrolledmanner. Nowforthe800lbGorillaintheroomquestion.Whathappenswhenyoumakemultiplecures?You seemanysmallersplicecompaniesbuya28curelengthpressthenmakethreecuresonasplicelength of72. Manyfailedsplicesarenotrecognizedasfailurefrommultiplecuring.Theproblemistheoriginalbeltin thespliceareawillnotproduceavisiblechangeinitsappearancefrommanufacturing.Thetrue problemisbetweenthepliesinthestepareafromtheuncuredsplicematerials.Thesematerialsare whatholdthesplicetogetherduringitsdynamicservicelife. Inthebelowoneinchwideadhesionteststripofamultiplecuredsplice(3heats),theareajustoutside thevulcanizingpresshasverylowadhesionsalongwithgaspockets.Thisonaverageistwotothree incheslongandrunsacrossthewidthofthebelt.Sinceheatgreaterthan230Fradiatesoutalongthe splicewithoutpressurethesplicerubberstartscuringbutwithoutfirmcontacttothebelt(pressure). Theselow/noadhesionareaswillpresentproblemsifwaterispresentinthebeltorproductconveyed. Ifsothereisamuchgreateropportunityfordynamicflexbreakdown.Multiplecuringsplicesonany hightensionbeltwillbecomeaproblemandshouldbeavoided.Thispracticewillaffectthedynamic servicelifeofthespliceasseenintheadhesionresultsbelow.

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 UnderstandingPressure, Pressurecanbeabitofawildcard,worldwide100PSIforfabricbeltsand200PSIarewellreceivedas thenorm.Insomeparts(Europe)aslowas60PSIisusedonfabricbeltsandcommonwithJapanese makers150PSIforSteelCordbelts. Wehavetokeepinmind,itisallaboutcrosslinkdensity,anditsrelationshiptocuredsplice adhesions.Testinghasshownabout40lbsperinchofpeelistheleastoneshouldworkwith. Nowthatnumbercanbetakenoutofcontextifyoudontfactorinthebeltstrueoperatingtension. Manyconveyorsystemsneverusemorethan70%ofthebeltworkingtension.Sosomewhatlesspeel adhesionvalueshaveworkedinthepast. IhavemadesplicesamplesonEuropeanandAmericanbelts(sameratings)atboth60lbsand100lbsof pressureandthereisameasureabledifferenceinadhesions.WiththatsaidIhavemadetestson Americanfabricbeltsat100lbsand200lbsofadhesionandthereisalsomeasureabledifferencein adhesions. Doyouneedthe200lbsofpressureonfabricbelt?No,youcangettoyourworkingadhesionof40lbs ofpeelperinchwith100lbsofpressure(andsometimesless).Doyoudecreasethecrosslinkdensity withlesspressure?Yes,rememberthatmolecularscalebitearlier.Factismorepressureisbetter,but theadhesionrelationshipcurvestartstoplateauafterabout100lbsonfabricbelts. FYIUsingdoublethespecifiedcurepressureonhightensionfabricbeltsisanicelittletrickusedbya fewsplicecompaniesintheknow.Theprocesshastohandledjustlikeasteelcordsplice(i.e.splice tableandoverlengthpress)oracrookedsplicecouldbetheresult. TheabovesamesciencecanbeusedforSteelCordsplicesaswell.Asnoted,insomepartsoftheworld 150lbsiscommonandinothers200lbsisthenorm.Somethingtounderstandisthatsteelcordbelt constructionisdifferentthanfabricbelt(outsideoftheobvious).Therecanbe150verysmalldiameter cordsinoneand100cordsintheotherandbothcarrythesameSTrating.Inthesmallerdiameterbelt sincemorecordsarepresentitispossibletouselesspressure. Liquids&pressure,oneoftheleastunderstoodtopicsinthesplicingbusiness,yetsosimple.Weall knowwhattemperaturewaterboilsat,212F(100C),butatwhatpressureisthatvaluetakenat?Sea level,14.69lbs(1bar)ofpressure. Soifwegotothetopofamountain,say14,000ftabovesealevel,willwaterboilat212F(100C)orata lowernumber?Sinceatmosphericpressureisgreateratsealevelthanat14,000ftthewaterwouldboil amuchlowernumber.Thismakesforasimpleexampletounderstandpressurevs.boilingpoint. Page6of7

Thatmeansat100PSItheboilingpointofthewaterinthefabricofausedbeltis328F(164C),at200 PSI382F(194C).Thisisanimportantpoint,asanyareaofthesplicethatisatatemperaturegreater than212F(100C)andnotunderpressureisallowinggaspocketstoform.

Itiswithinreasontobelieveduringthecurecyclesomeheatistransferredfromtheplatenedgetothe unpressuredbeltsurface(simplethermocoupletestprovesthisout).Sincetheplatenisoperatingat 300F(149C)itstandstoreasontheheatbeingtransferredforabouttwotothreeinchesintoand acrosstheunpressuredbeltisgreaterthan212F(100C).Thiseffectisthesameasfoundinmultiple curingnotedbefore. Lastlyanywaterthatworksitswayintothiscrossspliceopeningwillcausethesplicetofail.Sincethe beltgoesthoughtstretch&compressiononeachrevaluationandwatercannotbecompressedfailure fromhydrolyseswilloccur. MichaelCremeens VPBusinessDevelopment/AlmexGroup Page7of7